We (Andy and Peter) have known each other for years and, paticularly since we moved to opposite ends of the country, have been meeting up two or three times a year to walk in the Lake District, the Yorkshire Dales or the Derbyshire Peak District. I think it was earlier this year when we first started talking about the Pennine Way.

It's good to have goals in life, and walking the Pennine Way is one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you can look back on with a real sense of pride and satisfaction. The 268 mile route takes you from the Derbyshire Peak District, through the Yorkshire Dales, and Nothumberland, and on into the Cheviots.

So how long will it take? A lot of people take two or three weeks off work; get the train at Edale; start walking, and don't stop till they get to Kirk Yetholm. We thought about this. But not for very long. To complete the Pennine Way in two to three weeks without a break requires a reasonably high level of physical fitness; an equally high level of commitment and determination, and a certain amount of logistical planning. The idea was clearly a non-starter.

We did decide, however, that we would like to set ourselves a time limit for completing the walk. It had to be achievable, but still challenging. Ten years is about right isn't it?

We also agreed that the walk must start in Edale and end in Kirk Yetholm. We can do the bits in between in any order, but each bit must be done from south to north. (We wanted to do the whole walk in the same direction, and south to north is the direction the guide books are written in and, usually, the direction the wind blows).

So on Saturday October the 28th 2006 we set off from Edale to walk the first ten miles, over Kinder Scout to the Snake Pass. This website is a diary of that first walk, and all the walks that follow it. If things go as planned there should be a picture of us arriving at Kirk Yetholm some time before Friday October the 28th 2016. Please come back now and again to see how we're getting on